Southeast Asia · Cambodia
Cambodia Demographics: Fertility, Migration and Urban Population Change
Cambodia’s population is still growing, but lower fertility, a larger urban population, a working-age share approaching its peak, and a rising older population are changing the country’s demographic structure. The National Institute of Statistics publishes a 2024 population of 17,280,543 based on national projections, while the UN World Population Prospects series places the 2024 population at about 17.6 million under a different estimation system.
Primary data are drawn from Cambodia’s National Institute of Statistics, the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey, the Cambodia Inter-censal Population Survey 2024, the UNFPA and Ministry of Planning population-dynamics brief, UN World Population Prospects 2024, and the World Bank Cambodia Economic Update June 2026.
Cambodia Is Still Growing While Its Population Structure Starts to Turn
Population Benchmarks Continue Upward, but the Measures Are Not Identical
Cambodia’s post-1998 population record shows sustained growth. Census counts, intercensal survey estimates and population projections should not, however, be treated as one uninterrupted measurement series. The table preserves the statistical basis of each benchmark rather than disguising those differences.
| Year | Population | Measure Type | Statistical Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 11,437,656 | Census count | General Population Census | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2008 | 13,395,682 | Census count | General Population Census | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2013 | 14,676,591 | Survey estimate | Cambodia Inter-censal Population Survey | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2019 | 15,552,211 | Census count | General Population Census | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2024 | 17,280,543 | National projection | NIS population projection benchmark | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2024 | 17.6 million | Modelled estimate | UN World Population Prospects 2024 | United Nations, as reported by the World Bank |
The UNFPA and Ministry of Planning population-dynamics brief describes the change between the 2019 and 2024 national benchmarks as 11.1%. That figure confirms continued population growth, but it is not a census-to-census growth rate because the 2019 and 2024 values have different statistical bases.
Why Cambodia Has Two 2024 Population Figures
- The National Institute of Statistics currently labels 17,280,543 as a 2024 population value based on national projections.
- UN World Population Prospects 2024 gives about 17.6 million for the same year using an international demographic modelling system.
- The 2019 figure of 15,552,211 is a census count. A census count, national projection and UN modelled estimate answer related but different statistical questions.
Cambodia’s longer demographic record also carries an unusual cohort imprint from the 1975–1979 period, when mortality and displacement altered the age structure. The post-1998 growth sequence therefore sits on top of a population structure shaped by both earlier losses and later recovery.
Fertility Fell Before Population Growth Stopped
The Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey series records a large reduction in total fertility. Survey TFR fell from 3.8 births per woman in 2000 to 2.7 in 2014 and remained at 2.7 in 2021–22. The 2021–22 survey also recorded an urban TFR of 2.4 and a rural TFR of 3.0.
| Survey | Total Fertility Rate | Measure Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 CDHS | 3.8 births per woman | Survey TFR | Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey |
| 2005 CDHS | 3.4 births per woman | Survey TFR | Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey |
| 2010 CDHS | 3.0 births per woman | Survey TFR | Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey |
| 2014 CDHS | 2.7 births per woman | Survey TFR | Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey |
| 2021–22 CDHS | 2.7 births per woman | Survey TFR | Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey |
Cambodia’s Survey Fertility Rate Has Moved Toward Replacement Level
Total fertility rate from the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey series, with a broad replacement-level benchmark for context
Data: Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2021–22 Key Indicator Report. Survey TFR refers to the three years preceding each survey. The 2.1 line is a broad replacement-level benchmark rather than a fixed national threshold.
A separate international series gives a slightly later reading. The World Development Indicators value reported by the World Bank is 2.58 births per woman in 2024. The UNFPA and Ministry of Planning projection brief uses a 2024 baseline of 2.5 and projects TFR to fall to 2.04 by 2050. Those later values are not appended to the DHS chart because they come from different statistical series.
Lower fertility does not imply immediate population decline. Cambodia still has large cohorts in reproductive and working ages, so births can remain numerous even when the average number of births per woman falls. This lag between lower fertility and slower total population growth is population momentum.
The Working-Age Share Is Still Rising, but the Peak Is Around 2043
UN World Population Prospects 2024 places about 64% of Cambodia’s population in the 15–64 age group in 2024. Children aged 0–14 account for 30%, while people aged 65 and older account for 6%. The same projection series shows a much older structure by 2050 even though the working-age population is still larger in absolute terms.
| Age Group | 2024 Population | 2024 Share | 2050 Population | 2050 Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–14 | 5.3 million | 30% | 5.0 million | 23% |
| 15–64 | 11.3 million | 64% | 14.4 million | 66% |
| 65+ | 1.1 million | 6% | 2.5 million | 12% |
| Total | 17.6 million | 100% | 21.9 million | 100% |
Data: UN World Population Prospects 2024, as presented in the World Bank Cambodia Economic Update June 2026.
The Population Mix Shifts Toward Older Ages by 2050
Share of Cambodia’s population in three broad age groups, 2024 and projected 2050
Data: UN World Population Prospects 2024. The 2050 values are projections.
The working-age share does not rise indefinitely. The UN medium-variant series used by the World Bank projects it to reach a maximum of about 66.9% around 2043 before beginning to fall. The old-age support ratio moves in the opposite direction: from about 10.4 people aged 15–64 per person aged 65+ in 2024 to 5.7 in 2050 and about 3.7 in 2075.
Age threshold matters: CIPS-based figures define the older population as age 60 and above, while the UN table above uses age 65 and above. The UNFPA and Ministry of Planning brief reports 1,750,785 people aged 60+, or 10.1% of the population, in 2024. The UN WPP estimate for age 65+ is about 1.1 million, or 6%. These figures are not competing estimates of the same age group.
Using the 60+ definition consistently, the CIPS-based policy brief reports an increase from 848,911 people aged 60+ in 2008, equal to 6.3% of the population, to 1.75 million and 10.1% in 2024. Its projection places the 60+ share above 23% by 2050. The age structure therefore remains relatively young today while moving toward a much larger older population over the next several decades.
Migration Was Rewritten by the 2025 Return Flow From Thailand
Cambodia’s migration profile is unusually concentrated in one international corridor. World Bank data on 2020 emigration destinations place about 64% of Cambodian emigrants in Thailand. That concentration became visible in national population and labor dynamics when close to one million Cambodian workers returned from Thailand in mid-2025.
| Migration Measure | Value | Reference Period | What It Measures | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian migrant workers abroad | 1,292,000 | 2024 | Administrative count of migrant workers abroad | Cambodian authorities via World Bank |
| Cambodian migrant workers abroad | 345,000 | 2025 preliminary | Administrative count after the return flow | Cambodian authorities via World Bank |
| Workers returning from Thailand | Approximately 1 million | Mid-2025 | Return migration flow | World Bank Cambodia Economic Update |
| Returnees relative to labor force | About 14% | 2025 | Returnee count relative to the national labor force | World Bank Cambodia Economic Update |
| Thailand share of emigrant destinations | About 64% | 2020 | Distribution of Cambodian emigrants by destination | World Bank country-level immigration and emigration data |
The 2024 and preliminary 2025 administrative counts indicate a drop of roughly 70% in reported Cambodian migrant workers abroad. This is a migration-flow shock, not evidence that Cambodia’s long-run population trend reversed. Fertility and age structure normally change over years or decades; cross-border worker movements can change within months.
The same return flow also reduced workers’ remittance income. The World Bank reports annualized remittances at 3.6% of GDP in 2025, compared with an average of about 6% during 2019–2024. That economic effect is relevant demographically because international migration remains closely connected to household location, labor supply and the distribution of working-age adults.
Migration Measures on This Page Are Not Interchangeable
- The 64% figure describes where Cambodian emigrants were located in the 2020 destination distribution.
- The approximately 1 million figure describes a return flow from Thailand during 2025.
- The migrant-worker counts are administrative labor-migration measures and should not be read as the country’s annual net migration total.
Urbanization Rose, but the 2019 Classification Break Matters
Cambodia’s national statistics now place a much larger share of the population in urban areas than the 20%–25% figures still found in older datasets. CIPS-based reporting puts the urban share at 41.5% in 2024, following 39.4% in the 2019 census.
| Year | Urban Share | Statistical Base | Comparability Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 19.5% | General Population Census | Pre-2019 urban classification | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2013 | 21.4% | Inter-censal population survey | Pre-2019 urban classification | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2019 | 39.4% | General Population Census | Urban classification changed for the 2019 census | National Institute of Statistics |
| 2024 | 41.5% | CIPS-based national reporting | Uses the newer urban classification environment | CIPS 2024 / UNFPA and Ministry of Planning |
The apparent jump between 2013 and 2019 should not be interpreted as five years of rural-to-urban migration alone. Documentation for the 2021–22 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey states that the 2019 General Population Census reclassified about 20% of rural enumeration areas as urban. Real urban population growth and migration occurred alongside a statistical classification change.
Why older urbanization figures can look much lower: Cambodia’s urban-rural classification changed substantially around the 2019 census. A historical urban-share series that ignores this break can make the pace of physical urbanization appear much faster than the underlying settlement change alone.
Before that classification break, CIPS 2013 recorded urban population growth averaging 3.7% per year during 2008–2013, compared with a lower national growth rate. The survey linked part of the faster urban increase to migration. The later reclassification means that pre-2019 and post-2019 percentages still require a visible comparability warning.
The 2050 Path Is Larger, Older and Closer to Replacement-Level Fertility
The UN World Population Prospects series used by the World Bank projects Cambodia’s population to reach about 21.9 million in 2050. The UNFPA and Ministry of Planning brief gives a similar headline of approximately 22 million. The two projections point to continued population growth rather than near-term population decline.
The composition changes more than the total alone suggests. The 0–14 share falls from 30% in 2024 to 23% in the UN projection for 2050, the 65+ share doubles from 6% to 12%, and the working-age share reaches its high point before mid-century. At the same time, the UNFPA and Ministry of Planning fertility projection moves to about 2.04 births per woman by 2050.
That combination shifts Cambodia’s demographic question away from population growth alone. Urban concentration, the distribution of workers, the timing of the working-age peak and the speed of ageing become more informative than the national headcount by itself.
Projection interpretation: Population projections are scenario-based estimates, not guaranteed predictions. Fertility, mortality and migration can develop differently from the assumptions used in the projection model.
Data Sources and Methodology
The page keeps census counts, sample-survey estimates, national projections and international modelled estimates visibly separated. Historical population benchmarks therefore preserve their measure type rather than being presented as a single homogeneous annual series. Fertility survey data are kept within the Cambodia DHS series, while UN and national projections are used separately for future age structure and population totals.
| Source | Release or Data Year | Used for | Measure Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Statistics, Cambodia | 1998–2024 | Census population, CIPS population benchmarks, 2024 national population projection and urban shares | Census count, survey estimate and national projection |
| Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2021–22 | 2000–2021–22 series | Fertility trend, 2021–22 urban-rural fertility and the 2019 urban reclassification note | Survey fertility estimates and sampling documentation |
| Cambodia Inter-censal Population Survey 2024 | 2024 data · final report released 2025 | Current population characteristics, urbanization and older-population evidence | Nationally representative intercensal survey |
| UNFPA Cambodia and Ministry of Planning population-dynamics brief | 2025 | 2019–2024 population change, age 60+ trend, 2024 urban share and 2050 population and fertility outlook | Official-data synthesis and demographic projection |
| United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024 | 2024 | Modelled 2024 population, broad age structure, 2050 population and working-age trajectory | Modelled population estimate and medium-variant projection |
| World Bank, Cambodia Economic Update June 2026 | 2026 | Median age, 2024 TFR, 2043 working-age peak, old-age support ratio and 2025 migration shock | Demographic analysis, WDI indicator and administrative migration compilation |
Methodological Safety Note: Cambodia’s 17,280,543 national population figure for 2024 is published by NIS as a projection, while the 17.6 million UN figure is a modelled estimate; neither should be relabelled as a census count. The CIPS is a sample survey conducted between censuses. Fertility values from the Cambodia DHS, World Development Indicators and long-term projection series have different reference periods and estimation methods, so they are kept separate. Urban percentages before and after the 2019 census are affected by reclassification of enumeration areas and do not form a perfectly comparable settlement-growth series. The 60+ and 65+ older-population measures use different age thresholds. Emigrant destination shares, administrative migrant-worker counts, return migration and net migration are also different measures. All 2050 values are projections rather than observed population data.